[c][3] Among its investors (who were approached by John Beverley Robinson to participate in the venture)[4] were Sir Francis Bond Head,[d] Henry Kingscote[e] and Hugh Edmondstone Montgomerie.
[7] Lengthy negotiations were carried on between the company, and the Department of Crown Lands concerning the selection of townships and the terms of sale.
As many as sixty or seventy men were employed on the project at one time, and large sums of money were required for wages and provisions.
Miles was later appointed to re-examine the surveys, and determined that the acreage fit for settlement was far below that estimated by Gossage,[8] but the latter's figures were accepted by the department.
The distance of the townships from the settled parts of the province, the absence of good roads,[g] the rough nature of the country, the Civil War in the United States, the Fenian raids on the border, the Long Depression of 1873–1879, and rival attractions of Western Canada, all combined to discourage sales.
In 1877, the company aided the construction of the Victoria Railway from Kinmount to Haliburton with the hopes of increasing settlement in the townships.
[k][11] The company was involved in disputes with the Municipality of Dysart relating to valuations of its real and personal property, which led to a settlement in 1885 that was subsequently ratified by the Legislative Assembly of Ontario in 1887.
[16] During the Great Depression, lumbering activities ceased once again, and financial difficulties resulted in liens being placed against the company's lands in Dysart.